1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink-jet recording method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recording images formed on recording media by an ink-jet recording method, improvement in fastness property such as marker resistance and scratch resistance is required. Against these requirements, it is known to enhance fastness property by adding resin particles to an ink. The addition of the resin particles can increase the binding property between a coloring material and a recording medium or between coloring materials and thereby can enhance fastness property. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-238445 describes an ink that contains resin particles having a particle diameter 1 to 1.5 times that of pigment particles and is thereby improved in reliability, such as a decrease in clogging of the ink in a recording apparatus.
However, since the ink described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-238445 contains resin particles, the dispersion stability of the ink is insufficient in some cases. Furthermore, in the case where the ink is used in an ink-jet recording method (thermal ink-jet recording method), which is a system for performing recording by discharging an ink from a recording head and letting the ink fly by action of thermal energy, the discharge of the ink may be unstable. This is probably caused by that deposits are formed on a thin film resistor in the recording head due to an increase in viscosity by adding the resin particles to the ink or heat generated by applying a pulse to the ink.
That is, in order to stably discharge an ink by the thermal ink-jet recording method, it is required to inhibit the increase in the viscosity of ink containing resin particles. Furthermore, the ink is required to have abilities of forming bubbles with a desired volume in a recording head and of repeating foaming and defoaming in a desired time.